


Time to Move

by musikurt



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-22
Updated: 2010-08-22
Packaged: 2017-11-03 04:43:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/377420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musikurt/pseuds/musikurt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver is worried about how stressed Marcus has been lately and together they make an important decision.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time to Move

Oliver was worried. Things had been very different lately and it was incredibly unnerving. Marcus seemed to be off in his own little world. He was distant, often staring off and daydreaming himself right out of their conversations. He was incredibly irritable and the smallest things were setting him off. Oliver knew that Marcus had always been very passionate and could be aggressive, but it was only in the past few weeks that Oliver started to think it was a bit frightening.

Marcus had been under a lot of stress lately. His Quidditch team had not been doing very well and there were rumors that sweeping changes were about to take place. Everyone was on edge and none of the players seemed to have a clear idea of who would get to stay and who was going to go. The coach had just been dismissed the week before, leaving the players without anyone they felt they could trust to talk to about their concerns. Oliver was certain there was a great deal of tension in the locker room and during practice, so he had tried to be very sensitive about the topic at home.

Oliver tried to keep Marcus in good spirits. He surprised him with his favorite dinners, he attended to his every need, and he planned weekend excursions to get them out of town and focused on other things. This had worked at first, but Oliver was losing his patience and felt like he was overexerting himself to get any results. He considered being a bit more direct with Marcus, but he was now worried about what the reaction would be.

As he prepared dinner, Oliver decided he could not go on in this situation. He understood the stress his lover was under, but he had to start thinking about his own emotional and mental health, too. He figured it might be better if he went away for a while, until this situation resolved itself. Marcus seemed like it would be better if he was alone in working through this so there was no need for both of them to feel like they were living in a minefield. When Marcus got home, he would tell him that he would be taking a trip for a few weeks and hopefully by then everything would have blown over.

There was some clear tension when they sat across from each other in the dining room that evening. Oliver noticed that Marcus was quieter than he had been in the previous weeks and he wondered if perhaps he had received some bad news. Nevertheless, he had some things he needed to say, and he needed to say them before he changed his mind.

"Marcus," Oliver started, "I think I am going to go away for a while."

Marcus did not look up from his food.

"Marcus," Oliver said a bit more intently, "did you hear what I said?"

"I heard you," he replied blankly.

"Just for a few weeks. I plan to go visit my parents and then I will be back in time for the start of the season." He scanned Marcus's face for a response, but could not discern anything. "Are you okay with that?"

"Whatever you feel you need to do." Marcus still had not looked up from his plate and was now twisting his fork around in the pasta aimlessly.

"Is something the matter, Marcus? You've been really quiet tonight and I'm not sure what that means."

"Everything is fine."

Oliver sighed. "Which means it's not."

"No, I told you. Everything is fine." Marcus looked up at Oliver and gave him a stern look that was intended to tell him he should drop it before he started.

"And whenever you say that, it means that something is wrong. And you know that there is no way I am going to let this go so give up on that already and just tell me what is going on."

Marcus looked back down at his plate and let out a long sigh. "We still have no idea what is going to be happening with the team."

"Still?" Oliver asked, his tone clearly annoyed. "Do they not know how close it is to the start of the season? They certainly do not have a lot of time left if they are hoping to pick up any new players."

"Try telling that to the new manager. I seriously think he has no idea what he is doing."

"Have they give anyone any indication if they are staying or going?"

"No. They have actually been very careful to make sure no one has any clear indication of anything. A few of us met with the new coach today and he seemed like he has no idea of how they happen to be leaning at this point, either."

"That's ridiculous, Marc. Seriously. Maybe you should switch to another team."

Marcus looked up at Oliver and he noticed a slight twinkle in his eye. "Actually, that is something I was hoping to talk to you about. Since they have not signed any of us to new contracts, we are open to pursue other options. I got a phone call this morning offering me a spot on another team. I would be a captain there, too, so I would not be giving that up if I made the switch."

"So, do you want to accept it?"

"Well, I feel like it's not a decision I can make on my own. We'd have to leave here and move to Chudleigh."

"Wait -- the Chudley Cannons?" Oliver could not believe that Marcus would even consider. "You want to move to a losing team?"

"Since these guys are dragging their feet, it looks like they might have an opportunity to poach the best players from our team. We will be given free reign to come up with a training and practice schedule that we think will get everyone into the proper shape and hopefully we can turn them around into a winning team."

"Would we really have to live in Chudleigh, though? Couldn't we just stay here and you can travel back and forth?"

"We could, but if I am a captain, they sort of expect me to have a presence in the town. They want to get the townsfolk to start to rally behind the team again and so there is a while appearance schedule and plan that they would like us to work with."

Oliver tried to look as happy as possible, even though he was conflicted. He wanted Marcus to be able to continue playing. He remembered what he went through when he injured himself and was told he could never play again. He did not want to be the one who denied Marcus the chance to continue doing the only thing he loved more than him - at least he hoped he loved him more than Quidditch.

"So, what are you thinking," Marcus asked after several minutes of silence.

"Honestly, I am not a big fan of living in Chudleigh, but it sounds like an amazing opportunity for you. Can we at least keep the house here so that when we need to get away or want to get into the city, we have a place to come?"

"We can work all of that out somehow, I am certain. I might even be able to negotiate something so they will pay for wherever we stay in Chudleigh, at least at first, because they do seem very keen to get me down there."

Oliver noticed that for the first time in weeks, Marcus was smiling without having to be prompted in some way. He smiled back at him. "It is great to see you excited again, by the way."

Marcus looked across the table at Oliver and took his hands in his own. "I am so sorry I have been so short with you lately. I have been very stressed out and I tried not to take it out on you, but I think I failed at that and there is no excuse. You know I care about you and I never want you to feel like I do not appreciate you and all that you do for me."

"I understand. It's okay, really."

"So, when are you leaving?" Marcus asked.

"Leaving? Oh, I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you." Oliver winked at him. "Except maybe upstairs." He grabbed Marcus by the arm and pulled him up from the table and out of the room.


End file.
